Programme Director;Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi;Premier of Mpumalanga, Mr Mandla Ndlovu;Executive Mayor of the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality, Cllr Mhlonishwa Masilela;Executive Mayor of Nkangala District Municipality, Cllr Thomas Ngwenya;Chairperson of the Provincial House of Traditional and Khoisan Leaders, Kgoshi Lameck Mokoena;Community, religious and traditional leaders present with us today;Citizens of Middelburg and Mpumalanga;Guests;Ladies and gentlemen;

Goeie môre. Good morning. Sanibonani. Dumelang.

I greet you all as we celebrate this milestone in our quest to ensure quality healthcare services for the people of Mpumalanga.

Today, we are officially opening the King Nyabela Hospital, which will serve more than 240,000 people in the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality.

For more than a hundred years, the old Middelburg Hospital was the only hospital serving this community.

Over the years, it became dilapidated and too expensive to maintain.

So the decision was made to build a new hospital to serve our people.

This hospital was ready for occupation on the 1st of November 2025 and today it is officially open.

All the services that were provided at the Middelburg Hospital have now been relocated here, but the quality of care and the range of services this hospital provides are a huge improvement on the old.

The scale of this facility is impressive.

This is a 220-bed hospital with surgical, medical, paediatric, antenatal, postnatal, neonatal and high-care wards. It has a world-class accident and emergency department and three operating theatres.

The outpatient services are just as impressive.

Beyond regular outpatient services like pharmacy, TB and HIV management, dentistry and eye care, patients will be able to access dietetics and nutrition services, social workers, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, medical male circumcision, mental health, and dozens of other services.

This is what we mean by comprehensive health care services.

Healthcare is not just about calling for an ambulance when we are sick, about fetching ama-pillies every month at the clinic, or going to the emergency ward if there has been an accident.

Comprehensive health care is about walking alongside our people through every season of their lives.

It is about supporting a mother with antenatal care as she prepares to bring new life into the world, and ensuring she delivers safely and that both mother and baby get the support they need.

It is about helping people to keep and stay healthy, and starting to do so when they are still children.

Comprehensive health care is about providing the necessary care to our elderly when they are still in good health and supporting them when they become frail.

It is about reducing the burden of disease across society.

This means tackling communicable diseases like TB and HIV.

But it also means tackling non-communicable diseases– the so-called silent killers – such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.

These are among the top ten diseases here in the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality.

These diseases are claiming lives, straining our public health facilities and weakening the productivity of our nation.

Comprehensive health care is about healing the mind as well as the body.

Stress and mental health issues are affecting lives and communities.

People struggling with mental health issues often feel alone. Many turn to alcohol and substance abuse to try to cope.

The health sector is also shouldering a huge burden as a result of high levels of violence in our society, including the terrible scourge of gender-based violence.

Comprehensive health care is about prevention, early detection and management of all the health issues our people face.

As the World Health Organization reminds us, health is not merely the absence of illness, but complete physical, mental and social well-being.

Healthcare is about giving every man, woman and child the chance to live with dignity.

This is the promise of our Constitution, which declares that everyone has the right of access to health care services and that the state must take reasonable measures within available resources to achieve the realisation of this right.

The opening of this district hospital demonstrates our commitment as Government to give effect to this constitutional right.

A healthy nation is a nation where children learn better and where adults are able to work and provide for their families.

When a nation’s people are healthy, its economy is healthy and all of society prospers.

By contrast, weak health systems lead to higher levels of mortality, especially in communities with limited access to clean water and sanitation, poor housing and high unemployment.

What often happens is that people present late at health facilities, when some of these diseases are too advanced to treat.

That is why prevention, detection and monitoring are so critical.

That is why hospitals with the capacity to provide comprehensive services are our priority.

This new health facility is named after King Nyabela kaMahlangu, son of King Mabhoko, one of the most fearless warriors and a unifier of the Ndzundza Ndebele people.

King Nyabela was renowned for fiercely defending ancestral lands against European encroachment and for being relentless in seeking peace.

The Ndzundza Ndebele have a history of resistance and solidarity.

We recall the Mapoch War of 1882 to 1883 when KingNyabela harboured the Pedi King Mampuru II from the Boers.

We recall that it was in Middelburg where King Dinizulu kaCetshwayo kaMpande was exiled in 1910 and where he spent the last years of his life.

We also recall how, in the late 1960s, the then Prince Goodwill Zwelithini was given shelter by the Skosana family here in Mpumalanga amid fears for his safety following the death of his father.

This speaks to the spirit of a people who throughout history have been peacemakers and resolute and brave when called upon to be so.

Today we honour King Nyabela and we honour all the forebears of the Ndzundza Ndebele people.

Let this hospital be a living tribute to their resolve, principle and commitment.

In taking forward their legacies, I call on the community to care for this facility.

It is significant that the community has been actively involved in this project, with over 1,100 work opportunities created, including more than 520 work opportunities for women.

There were challenges during the early construction stages with so-called business forums who disrupted the work. There were also legal challenges with contractors.

We must be clear that acts of intimidation and violence relating to the construction of public infrastructure will not be tolerated.

We cannot stand for the construction of hospitals, clinics, roads, dams or any public infrastructure being disrupted to advance some individuals’ financial interests.

We will continue to improve access to quality services by refurbishing facilities, by building new hospitals and by expanding primary health platforms.

We will continue to promote access to health care information in languages that people understand and through platforms such as radio and television.

We are working to put in place the critical building blocks of the National Health Insurance, or NHI.

At its heart, the NHI is about fulfilling the constitutional right of access to healthcare, without this being dependent on where one lives or one’s ability to pay.

The NHI ensures that all people can access the full range of quality health services they need, where and when they need them without experiencing financial hardship.

For the NHI to be a success, we need a healthcare sector that is properly governed and well led.

We need a skilled workforce, high standards of service delivery and uninterrupted access to the medicines that people need.

To build a health system that meets the needs of all our people requires the involvement, the resources and the capabilities of all sectors of society.

As we open the King Nyabela Hospital, we are determined that all hospitals and clinics that have been commissioned must be completed to budget and on time.

There can be no space for corruption, fraud or waste in the procurement of health infrastructure, supplies or services.

We have done much to tackle corruption in health care.Stolen funds have been recovered. Alleged perpetrators are being prosecuted.

We will end the criminal actions of those who steal from the sick and vulnerable, who endanger people’s lives.

To those entrusted with the health of our people, we are counting on you to treat our people with respect and dignity.

While hospitals and clinics are built with bricks and mortar, the heartbeat of our facilities is provided by the health care providers who diligently perform their duties, sometimes under difficult circumstances.

We salute all the healthcare workers at this facility and across our country.

To the community we wish to say, we are a nation that practices ubuntu.

We are a nation of empathy and compassion.

Just as none of us would ever wish to be turned away from a hospital when we need medical attention, we must reject the actions of those who have been breaking the law by trying to prevent foreign nationals from getting medical treatment.

Our Constitution says that everyone living in the country has the right to be treated at a hospital or clinic when they need care, whether they are citizens or non-citizens.

Determining who is in South Africa illegally is the job of law enforcement and immigration authorities.

Let us remember our own past, when many of our people were denied care on account of the colour of our skin.

We do not wish to see it revisited on us or on those who have sought refuge in our country.

Like the great King Nyabela after whom this facility is named, let us open our hearts and have compassion.

All who walk through the doors of this hospital have a right and a hope to be cared for.

With these words I now declare the King Nyabela Hospital officially open.

uNyabela nguGijamphezeni kaMabhokoIkhozana lekhethu elahluthaLayokungena ErholweniBayede Ngwenyama!

Asiphile isitjhaba amaNdzundza nabahlezi naso…